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A 19th century specimen of Cotham Marble, a Triassic microbialite

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Cotham Marble from near Bristol is far from uncommon, but old museum specimens of the material are rarely seen. One such 19th century specimen is illustrated below. The chain of ownership runs from John I. Legro (1842-1923) to Hugh A. Ford (1885-1966) to Eugene Carmichael and the A.E. Seaman Mineral Museum (named for professor Arthur Edmund Seaman, 1858-1937). Sowerby (1811, p. 41) illustrated a similar polished slab of Cotham Marble (his TAB. CCCXXV), shown below. He wrote, ' Cotham, near Bristol, affords this remarkably figured Marle, which, according to the Bristol Guide, you may often imagine is a fine drawing. It is a curious formation of Marle and Clay, chiefly stained by Iron, and perhaps occasionally by Manganese, forming, by settling moisture under peculiar circumstances, the top undulations, sometimes representing clouds in a sky, while the bottom imitates earth and water as in landscapes. The fanciful figure to themselves in this something like a boat and men in one part...
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The Classic Carboniferous Crinoids of Richmond

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The pretty North Yorkshire market town of Richmond has a rich history, most notably visible in the large Norman castle perched high above the River Swale. Carboniferous exposures in the River Swale beneath Richmond's Norman castle. I watched a relaxed kingfisher standing on the rocks here on 3rd August 2024. Richmond also has an important palaeontological history, being the site of a discovery in the 1850s of numerous beautifully preserved Carboniferous crinoid fossils. The most abundant of these,  Woodocrinus macrodactylus , was described in 1854 (de Koninck in de Koninck & Le Hon). De Koninck's 1854 diagram of Woodocrinus macrodactylus . 'Parmi les nombreux fossiles carbonifères du Yorkshire dont je suis redevable à l’obligeance de M. Edward Wood, de Richmond, il s’est trouvé  quelques échantillons d’un Crinoïde remarquable par sa taille et par la parfaite conservation de ses diverses parties.' Illustrations of Woodocrinus macrodactylus in de Koninck & Le Hon...
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7th century Runic Gold from Suffolk

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Early Medieval runic gold coins are very rare. One type, a shilling or thrymsa found in East Anglia, is known from only two examples (plus a broken contemporary plated forgery). Dating to about 660-70, in the "Trophy" series (the earliest East Anglian coinage), it is known as the 'Runic Reverse' or ‘Runic Ring-Bearer’ shilling (Marsden 2016, Marsden & Pol 2020). The example shown here was found in 1998 by a detectorist near East Bergholt, Suffolk (about 25 km from Sutton Hoo) and is registered with the Fitwilliam Museum's Early Medieval Coin Finds . The other known example  was found near Billockby, Norfolk. The obverse shows the head of an emperor facing left with a floating cross in front and above, and a nine-rayed starburst with two connected rings and a slightly disconnected third (with attached line) below. The floating cross on this coin is particularly reminiscent of Constantine's vision (as recounted in "Life of Constantine" by Eusebius)...
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Borneo Wildlife in the Deramakot Forest

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Deramakot lies in central Sabah, northwest Borneo. It's reached by a drive of about 4 hours from Sandakan, the major part being through seemingly endless palm oil plantations. The sustainably managed forest reserve is known as the best place in Borneo to have a chance of encountering the spectacular clouded leopard, but even so, sightings are few and far between. I found myself with a few clear days before needing to be back at university to give a talk in Kuala Lumpur, so on the spur of the moment (after checking with Alternative Adventure Borneo that it would be OK to turn up at such short notice), I booked a flight to Sandakan for the following morning.  Once installed in a room at Deramakot, there was a meal and then it was straight out into the evening to see what we could find. Sharp-eyed guide Elsie was balanced on top of the cabin of the vehicle. For the following two evenings, we headed out in the afternoon with a packed dinner to be eaten just after dusk before continuing...
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Kuala Lumpur Otters

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Over the years, I've met some very interesting wildlife within the limits of Kuala Lumpur. Two days ago, on a walk through a hilly area of forest in the city, I heard quite a large splash in a small lake hidden by trees and wondered if that could have been an otter. This afternoon I went back to focus on the lake and see what could be seen. Once again, there was a large splash and ripples moving across the surface of the lake, which I could only glimpse through small gaps in the trees. I found a way down towards the lakeside and there they were, four very lively otters splashing, surging, turning and making quite a lot of noise. I managed a couple of photographs, but once they noticed my presence, they disappeared, leaving a calm lake surface disrupted only by pond skaters and the occasional fish. Here are three of them boisterously chasing a fourth. They are smooth-coated otters ( Lutrogale perspicillata ). And here is the calm lake after their disappearance. I walked slowly and q...
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